How well prepared are IT professionals within U.S. government agencies to respond to foreign cyber threats? Will government initiatives, such as the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative and the creation of the U.S. National Cybersecurity Coordinator role, be effective in addressing the challenges facing U.S. critical IT infrastructure? What is the impact of compliance on security within the federal IT environment?

The Center for Strategy and Technology suggests that the Air Force continue to anticipate and develop countermeasures to emerging threats in order to proactively protect and dominate the cyberspace domain of the future.

The Internet and its communications infrastructure serve as the critical backbone of information exchange that is vital to U.S. security, says the U.S. Business Roundtable in this report. Yet the United States is not sufficiently prepared for a major attack, software incident or natural disaster that would lead to disruption of large parts of the Internet.

To assist generations of U.S. policymakers to navigate the complexities of cyber and other technological threats, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has launched the Ira A. Lipman Chair in Emerging Technologies and National Security, named for longtime CFR member Ira A. Lipman, the founder and chairman emeritus of Guardsmark, LLC—one of the world’s largest security services companies.

With over 40 percent of the world's population now online, the Internet has revolutionized the way the world communicates. But with fast evolving technology, a proliferation of actors with access to the Internet, and an absence of international consensus on what should be permissible, the gap between existing world arrangements and the challenges posed by the Internet is in fact widening.

With the U.S. government still dealing with the fallout from the cyber theft of over twenty million personnel records in 2014—one of the largest data breaches in history—a new book from Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Micah Zenkoreveals how red teams might have helped avoid such adisaster.

Jay Rockefeller, the former chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, will join the Council on Foreign Relations this month as a distinguished fellow. His research will cover Japan, East Asia, cybersecurity issues, and other topics. He will be based in CFR’s Washington, DC, office.

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has launched Net Politics, a blog on cybersecurity, Internet governance, digital trade, and privacy. It will provide original insight, highlight notable research and analysis, and introduce new voices on the emerging politics of cyberspace.

Our democracy is under attack by Russia, but almost no one is treating the situation with the gravity it deserves. President Obama is loathe to retaliate. Would-be president Donald Trump denies that any attack is happening. And the media are acting as enablers for the attackers.

Since the 1990s, U.S. law enforcement has expressed concern about “going dark,” roughly defined as an inability to access encrypted communications or data even with a court order. Silicon Valley companies are rolling out encrypted products that allow users alone to access their data, and in the wake of the Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attacks, law enforcement officials argue that their fears are being realized.

Hackers are often mistakenly portrayed in popular culture as inarticulate geeks donning hoodies or ninja suits. However, the opposite is true, and policymakers in Washington could benefit from a deeper understanding of who hackers are and what they have to offer.

2015 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2015 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »